There certainly won’t be any drama when undefeated Ring Magazine No. 7 rated welterweight Errol “The Truth” Spence takes on 41 year old Leonard Bundu this Sunday night from the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island, NY. The bout will be shown nationally on NBC after the closing Olympic ceremonies. Spence is a huge 100-1 favorite that has knocked out 17 of his 20 opponents, including seven straight.
The significance of this fight has nothing to do with the fight itself, but with details outside the squared circle. That’s where things get interesting as there will be an important question that should be closer to being answered. Will a Top Rank promoted fighter be matched with an Al Haymon managed fighter? That hasn’t happened yet, which has kept some promising fights from happening.

When Spence, who is managed by Haymon, wins on Sunday, he will be the mandatory challenger for IBF Welterweight champion Kell Brook. While Brook hasn’t vacated his title as of yet, he has moved up to middleweight to fight GGG on Sept 10th. It’s not impossible that Brook will move back to welterweight after his fight, but it’s highly unlikely given his struggle to make the 147 pound limit. At the 30 day out weigh in, Brook tipped the scales at 176 pounds, further implying his permanent move up in weight.

What this all means is that Brook is going to end up vacating his title, which would result in Spence having to face another fighter for the vacant strap. When looking over the IBF welterweight rankings, the fighter ranked just below Spence is Konstantin Ponomarev, who just so happens to be promoted by Top Rank, and who would be the most logical matchup to fill the IBF’s vacancy. There’s no excuse for those two not to be matched up as Ponomarv last fought on April 9th and doesn’t have another fight scheduled.

If those two don’t get matched together next, that will further show that Bob Arum (CEO of Top Rank) and Haymon still cannot co-exhist enough to put some great matches on for the public.

I’d put my money on that fight not happening and instead would be willing to bet that Spence takes on Haymon managed, Lamont Peterson, who is ranked No. 5 by the IBF. Peterson also is available as he hasn’t fought since last October and there wouldn’t be a conflict between manager and promoter. Let’s all hope I’m wrong and that the feud between these two boxing power brokers can finally end.

Like this:

Newly crowned WBO NABO bantamweight champion Antonio “Carita” Nieves (16-0-1, 10 KO’s) will return to the ring on Friday, August 19th when he takes on the also undefeated, Nikolay Potapov (14-0-1, 6 KO’s) from Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, New York in a 10-round bantamweight bout.

The co-featured match is part of a tripleheader that will be live on Showtime as part of their “ShoBox: The New Generation” series that focuses on up-and-coming prospects in the boxing game.

Nieves is coming off his first 10 round bout, a unanimous decision over then once-beaten Oscar Mojica on June 18th in Washington, Pa., when he won the WBO NABO crown.

Potapov is coming off a 10 round majority draw against Stefon Young on April 15 that was also televised by Showtime for their “ShoBox” series.

Ironically, the only blemish on Nieves’ record is the draw that he also had with the aforementioned and fellow undefeated Young last June.

On paper this appears to be Nieves’ toughest fight. Potapov was a former amateur standout in Russia with over 200 wins and is ranked in the top 15 by the WBO (No. 7), IBF (No. 13), & WBA (No. 14). He’s also already had seven bouts that have gone ten rounds including one which went 12.

Like this:

Keith Thurman defeated Shawn Porter by a unanimous decision this past Saturday in a fight that will be a candidate for Fight of the Year. If Porter would have won one more round, the fight would have been declared draw. There are plenty of options on the table for Thurman, including a possible rematch.

Instead of continuing to compete for one of three open offensive line positions for the 2016 season, redshirt freshman Grant Schmidt has decided to transfer from The Ohio State University. The 6’6’’ 300 pound Schmidt was a First Team All-South Dakota choice as a high school senior. He was the 50th best offensive lineman in the nation in the 2015 recruiting class according to Phil Steele.

Schmidt graduated early and enrolled at Ohio State last January to get a head start in his college career. After redshirting last season, I thought he would have a great opportunity to get playing time this year, likely at one of the tackle spots.

Junior Jamarco Jones and sophomore Isaiah Prince are the leading candidates to start the season at left and right tackle, respectively, following the graduation of Taylor Decker and Chase Farris. Schmidt was competing with sophomore Kyle Trout along with fellow redshirt freshman Branden Bown and Kevin Feder for backup spots this spring.

When practice picks up again in late summer, I expect Juco transfer Malcolm Pridgeon to join the competition at tackle.

Friday’s preliminary bouts feature 12 matchups in six weight classes, including four in the 152 pound Novice Division and three in the 165 pound Open Division.

Half of the bouts on the opening night will be filled by Open Division boxers. Of those six bouts, three will feature former Cleveland Area Golden Glove champions.

The opening bout of the competition is in the 123 pound Open Division and promises to set the stage for what the night has in store. 2014 Novice Division champion Uriel Huerta, from Cal Crowell Boxing, will look to become an Open Division champion this year. It won’t be easy as standing in his way will be the 2015 Lake Erie Association Jr Olympic champion, Jibreel Hawkins, from ABA Boxing.

Two former 165 pound champions will compete in separate bouts.

For those that attended last year’s tournament, Tyrel Ross, from MLK Premier, should be a familiar name as he was crowned the 165 pound Novice Division Champion. Ross will be taking on Mardell Halas, from Salem Boxing Club.

Levi Patterson, from Empire Boxing Club, won the 2011 Open Division championship at 152 pounds. He will be taking on Jose Rodriguez, from Rodriguez Boxing Club in what should be an entertaining scrap in the 165 pound Open Division.

The remaining Open Division bouts taking place on opening night will be Elmer Dennis against Henry Gaston at 141 pounds, Kevin Cole against Solomon Howell at 165 pounds, and Rashad Chisolm against Keith Fairchild at 178 pounds.

Six Novice Division bouts are also on tap, with the four aforementioned 152 pound matches, along with one apiece at 165 pounds and Super Heavyweight (201+), which will conclude the opening night festivities.